Means for regulating temperature of contents of barrels



' Nova 3,1936. c. H. WIDMAN ET AL. fi s MEANS FOR REGULATING TEMPERATURE OF CONTENTS OF BARRELS Filed May 12, 1933 ATTORNEYS Ill/MS won REGIULAG 'lllEMlPlERPMlWlE iU lF @UN'JIENTS Ull EARREILS @harles n. wiaml, Eertill 'r. lLindlelll, and rain it. Seibold, Detroit, Mich, assignors to The Murray (Corporation of erica, a corporation of Delaware application May 12, 193?, Serial No. dliblim 2 Claims.

Our invention relates to barrels and particularly to a barrel having means for regulating and controlling the temperature of the fluid contained therewithin.

In the past barrels were constructed of wood, especially tight barrels employed by wine and cider makers, brewers and distillers. In view of the insulating property of the wood, difliculty was always experienced in cooling the barrel or retaining it cold after its removal from cold storage. It was the usual practice to place the entire barrel in ice, which was expensive and which required a considerable amount of time and labor.

In practicing our invention we take advantage of the uninsulated portion of a barrel of the metal type which has its ends insulated, as described and claimed in the co-pending application of C. H. Widman, Serial No. 670,663, filed May I2, 1933, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. The barrel is entirely insulated except at the central bilge portion where the metal of the innershell is exposed. In view of the conducting properties 'of the metal, the temperature of the barrel contents is readily controlled at this point. When the barrel is cold and is tobe deliveredin a cold state, a belt of insulating material may be secured about the non-insulated portion of the barrel or an insulated belt having dry ice on the surface adjacent to the uh-insulated portion of the barrel, may be secured thereabout. A funnel-shaped receptacle may be sealed about the barrel in which ice and salt may be disposed to provide an intense cold brine about the uninsulated metal at the bilge portion or the barrel. A cabinet may be providedhaving cooling coils in which a refrigerant maybe delivered in a Well lmown manner, positioned directly adjacent to the uninsulated portion of the barrel when the barrel is disposed. in the cabinet within the coils. An insulating belt may be provided to encompass the coils and seal them within an area about the uninsulated por- 'tion of the barrel. A further extension of the invention resides in the pasteurization of the contents of the barrelby a coil for steam, hot

air or the lilrewhich may be disposed about the uninsulated portion of the barrel which may be jacketed within an insulating belt which engages the barrel and seals the coil therewithin.

Accordingly, the main objects of our invention are to provide a method of regulating and controlling the temperature of the contents of a barrel at an uninsulated portion thereof; to provide 7 a band of insulating material which encompasses the unins'ulated surface of the barrel; to provide insulation for dry ,ice which may be retained against the uninsulated portion of the barrel to cool the contents thereof; to provide a receptacle which will encompass the uninsulated portion of the barrel to retain ice thereabout; to rovide a coil carrying a refrigerant which is disposed about the temperature of the barrel contents, which is simple in construction and economical of manufacture and use. I

Other objects and features of novelty of our invention will be either specifically pointed out or will become apparent when referring, for a better understanding of our invention, to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, whereinf Figure 1 is a View, in elevation, of a barrel having means for regulating the temperature of the barrel contents embodying features of our invention,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged broken sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1, taken on the line f--f thereof,

Fig. 3 is-a view similar to that illustrated in Fig. 2, showing a modified form thereof,

Fig. i is a broken view, in perspective, of the insulating element illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3,

Fig. 5 is a broken view, partly in section and partly in elevation, of a portable element for cooling the barrel at the uninsulated portion thereof, i i

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 5, 1

Fig. '7 is a sectional view of structure, similar to that illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, showing a modified form thereof,

Fig. 8 is a plan view, partly in section, of the structure illustrated in Fig. 7,

Fig. 9 is a sectional view of structure, similar.

to that illustrated in Fig. 7, showing a modifiedforrn thereof, and

Fig. ii) is a plan view, partly in section, of the structure illustrated in Fig. 9.

In Figs. 1 and 2, we have illustrated a barrel described more completely in the above-men:- tioned copending application wherein an inner shell it has the ends reinforced by caps if between which an insulating material it may be provided for completely insulating the barrel er;- cept at the bilge portion li t where a narrow strip of the inner barrel portion it is exposed. After the barrels are tilled with a beverage they are usually stored in a refrigerator to age and be retained cold and are usually delivered in a cold state to a customer. lustrated, in Figs. 1 and 2, a belt it which is preferablv made of ca vas, felt, or other suitable For this reason we have it material it having a central pocket formed therein in which insulating material H such as sawdust, cork, felt, asbestos, or the like may be disposed. Suitable securing means IB, such as straps, bands of rubber, toggle acting locks or the like, retain the band about the uninsulated portion of the barrel. The uninsulated portion of the barrel is disposed between annular ring portions l9 upon which the barrel rolls which thereby protects the band I5 when disposed therebetween. a

In Fig. 3, we have shown a further extension of I the invention disclosed in Figs. 1 and 2, wherein the belt i5 is provided with pockets 2i in which cakes of ice 22, preferably dry ice, may be disposed to be adjacent to the surface of the barrel at the uninsulated portion I4. The insulating material I! is disposed outwardly of the ice and thereby insulates it from the ambient air. A belt of this type is illustrated in Fig. 4, wherein the outer cloth portion l6 contains the insulation ll'l while the pockets 2| are stitched on the inner peripheral surface of the band so formed. It is to be understood that only a single band need be provided and when no ice is employed the pocket will fold back against the belt, as illustrated in Fig. 2. When dry ice is employed, any number of cakes may be disposed in the inner pockets depending upon the length of time which the contents of the barrel is to remain cold. In this manner a barrel of beer, for example, may be delivered and retained cold for many hours without requiring any ice other than the dry ice provided in the belt.

In Fig. 5, we have shown a further extension of the cooling idea wherein a funnel 23 is disposed on tripod legs 24 having a rubber element 25 at its lower lip which engages the ringportion IQ of the barrel. The funnel 23 preferably supports the weight of the barrel on the rubber element 25 to form a complete seal between the barrel and the lip of the funnel. Ice may be packed in the funnel of the barrel and salt added thereto to produce a brine below the freezing point which quickly cools the barrel. A pump may be attached to the barrel through the top bung 26, which is the conventional method of dispensing beer when it is to be consumed over a considerable period of time. A spout Z'I may'be provided near the top of the funnel to drain off the brine as the ice melts to prevent an overflowing at the top of the funnel and to retain the coldest portion of the brine at the bottom of the funnel in contact with the area M of the barrel. A drain hose 28 may be attached to the bottom of the funnel for draining all the water therefrom after the contents of the barrel is depleted.

In Fig. 7, we have shown an extension of the idea illustrated by Figs. 5 and 6, wherein a permanent cabinet may be provided having a plurality of hollow coils 29 which encompass the barrel at the uninsulated portion I4 thereof and through which a refrigerant may be pumped by devices commerciallyemployed in the art. An enclosing element 3| preferably made of insulating material may be disposed about thecoils 29 in engagement with the insulated barrel portions to completely seal the coil about the uninsulated portion Id of the barrel to provide for the more eflicient employment of the refrigerant. In this manner a simple cabinet could be constructed for receiving a barrel or barrels, having apparatus in the nature of a conventional type of domestic ice machine which would be efflcient in operation in view of the application of the refrigerant at a single uninsulated portion of the barrel. Especially is this true when an insulating element encompasses the coils and seals them directly to the barrel. In this manner continuous or intermittent operation of the machine would retain the contents of the barrel cold for an indefinite period.

Referring to Figs. '9 and 10, we have illustrated a further extension of our invention wherein the pasteurization of the beer or other fluid within the barrel is made possible in an efficient manner. A steam-carrying belt 32 may be disposed directly against the uninsulated portion M of the barrel preferably by corrugating the belt to provide a tube in the nature of a sylphon so that it could be disposed directly against the surface It of the barrel. An insulating jacket 33 similar to the insulating belt 3| employed about the coils 29, may be employed to seal the belt 32 to the barrel to prevent the escape of the heat and to concentrate the heat directly on the uninsulated portion of the barrel. In this manner the contents of the barrel may be heated up to pasteurization temperature in a very quick and convenient manner. When conditioned air is employed in lieu of steam, the belt 32 may be omitted and the air circulated through the jacket 33 as through a duct.

It will thus be seen that We have taken advantage of the uninsulated portion of a barrel for retaining or regulating the temperature of the fluid contained therein which materially advances the art in temperature regulation for the fluid of barrels. An insulating covering member for the uninsulated portion of the barrel may be employed to retain the temperature of the fluid for a short time or dry ice may be disposed on the inner surface of the member to be insulated from the atmosphere to cool the barrel contents over a period of time. Other means may be employed of a semi or permanent nature which encompasses the uninsulated portion of the barrel for cooling the fluid thereof. As a further extension our invention employing the utility provided by the barrel having an uninsulated portion, pasteurization may be effected by a concentrating of heat at the uninsulated portion of the barrel for raising the temperature of the fluid up to the point of pasteurization.

While we have described and illustrated several embodiments of our invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes, omissions, additions and substitutions may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of our invention, as set forth in the accompanying claims.

We claim'as our invention:

1. The combination with a barrel substantially insulated at all points except at the bilge, of an insulated belt having pockets on the inner face thereof for holding a cooling element, and means securing said belt at the uninsulated bilge por' tion of the barrel.

2. The combination with a barrel having insulated and uninsulated portions, of an insulated member having pockets on the inner face thereof for retaining cooling means, and means for securing said member in position over the uninsulated portion of said barrel.

CHARLES H. WIDMAN. BERTIL T. LINDELL. PAUL F. SEIBOLD. 

